Larry Birkhead: Anna Nicole Smith's Daughter Just Like Her Mommy

Other than her Southern belle good looks, there's at least one more thing the late Anna Nicole Smith passed onto daughter, Dannielynn. Smith's ex-boyfriend and Dannielynn's father says that his 5-year-old daughter's love of the camera undeniably comes from her mother.

"I see her mom in everything she does," Birkhead told Us Weekly. "We were at the Kentucky Derby and she started smiling and posing like her mom would. People ask me to put her in modeling, but I don't want to push."

But not everything about the Derby day was flash photogs and fun. Birkhead later tweeted that he was battling a publication over a libelous story that was to run about the father-daughter duo: "Spent the entire day yelling at an editor & legal dept. of a newspaper over a false story about me and my daughter at the kentucky derby," he tweeted.

Another thing Dannielynn gets from her mama? Her blunt curiosity.

Speaking about how he explained Smith's death to his young daughter, Birkhead shared, "At first I said, 'Your mommy's up in the clouds.' Then we were on a plane from Kentucky and she asked, 'Which cloud is my mom on, maybe she can come play?'"

Smith, 39, tragically died in 2007 after an accidental drug overdose -- a bitter paternity battle between Birkhead and Smith's then boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, followed. But Birkhead won the daddy debacle and with it also inherited the overwhelmingly difficult job of protecting Dannielynn from the media's characterization of her mother.

A British opera house recently staged a satirical production, the 'Anna Nicole' opera, which enraged the doting father.

"One day my daughter is going to see this trash," he said. "These aren't images you want to relate to your child."

We have a feeling that explaining an overseas opera will be the least of Birkhead's worries when Dannielynn hits the asking age.

Larry is a celebrity wannabee...think he got his first taste of the spotlight via Anna Nicole and still craves attention. I also think he is ambitious for the little girl, wanting her to be a part of the "in" crowd also. Think they would both be better off to be permanently in Kentucky. JMO

Larry can be as outraged as he wants to be but, he needs to face the fact that is who Anna was ... she did outrageous things, made awful movies, made a spectacle of herself the majority of the time and ran around barely covered with clothing. Her daughter will have to learn to live with her late mother's persona ... it's who she was. I can understand Larry wanting Danni to see the good side of Anna but, that's not how she portrayed herself to the media.

Everyone is picking on a little girl who lost her mother. A mother that was propped up like a doll by Howard Stern, her lawyer/handler. Have you all forgotten that Howard took a video of a rather evident high Anna and said "this is gonna sell big". He USED her just like those around her.Let's also not forget she just lost her first born son, her world, her life, a day after she gave birth!?Larry fought to get his daughter from Howard. So he takes her out to events that he and Anna have attended. They did meet at the derby or have you all forgotten that as well?Larry knew a different Anna, and that's the woman he is trying to teach his daughter about.This little girl looks happy, is loved, and is without her mother. I dare anyone else to try it.

BaBaOhReally..you talk about Stu enjoying flogging the hog. Sounds like you do the same watching my mom and sister on the internet like you said. You're a one pump chump! At least thats what your S L U T mama said!

I am so happy Larry has Dannielynn. She looks like a happy, beautiful little girl. Her mother was a beautiful woman, who, unfortunately, surrounded herself with the wrong people. I was not her biggest fan and I did not dislike her, but, it was so tragic that she finally had the daughter she wanted, then lost her son and her own life. Dannielynn also resembles her daddy and has since infant pictures of her first appeared.

I wish them both the best and I'm sure he will explain things the right way for the child.

Why is it wrong for him to see her mother in his daughter? In almost every child you see traits of one parent of the other like looks mannerisims etc. That doe not mean he sees their daughter as a stripper and drug abuser. Don't reflect the parents bad choices in life on an innocent child. Larry sounds like he is raising her like a normal 5 yr old so good for him.

Dawn...His twitter..argued on phone all day..the day at the Derby .He stopped when pics taken, or started, which? Stated his daughter wants to go into modeling. Publicity..this little girl hasn't a snowball chance in hel*! Anna made a living, the best way she knew how, right, or wrong! A baby born, a son died.Such tragedy! He is out for the money and fame..no more, no less, thus the arguing all day, probally wanting to get paid for an exclusive. The "FAME" was Anna! The buck stopped w/ her.

Just tell her that the only ones talking trash about her mother are the ones that could not do what she did and they are jealous. Your mommy lived outside of what other people considered to be noermal. She did nothing wrong, she did entertain. Everyone liked her and most women would kill to be her. She was one of a kind. No one can dispute that your mother loved you very much. She reached out for help and no one paid her any attention. Everyone needs help once in a while. She broke down after your brother died. No one tried to understand what she went through, but she could not handle it. She broke down and hid it from everyone. I wish I could have helped her, but I too turned my back on her. We all loved Anna Nichole but not many are going to sdmit it. She lived for herself and her kids and it got the best of her. She is not in the clouds but as long as Dannilyn is alive her mother will live in her. That is why we have kids. To carry on our genes and live on through them.

the mother, Anna, was desperate for attention and basically a mess. I pray that this little girl can be shielded from what her mom was really like or perhaps when she gets to asking age the father can help the girl differentiate between Anna's good qualities and her major problems so the child may be scared out of making the same mistakes. it does seem the father is a bit of a attention hound himself but let's hope he leads her in the right directions.

Dannielynn is going to have natural curiosity about her mother...her dad needs to be honest and answer as many questions about her mother truthfully or Dannielynn will search for the real truth about Anna on her own, then will be upset with her dad for not being honest with her.....this is what happens when your mother dies when you're a toddler....I know.....

This child is certainly beautiful. I hope she will also be beautiful inside. Hopefully Mr. Birkhead will see that she is brought up like polite and thoughtful girl. She will have many opportunities when she gets older and it would be my hope that she not go the same route as her mother, as that would be tragic.